Falling Darkness: The second book in the Falling Awake Series

by T. A Richards Neville

  “Why can’t you just trust me?” he said.

  “When you give me a reason to, I will.”

  He rubbed the back of his head and puffed out a defeated breath. “I would never deliberately lie to you, but I will never do anything to put you in danger, either. Has it not once crossed your mind that what Caleb said is true? Have you not once thought that just maybe, the things we think you might be able to do are so powerful, we need to protect you from it? Tell me now that you really believe we are so against you that we get off lying to you all the time.”

  I didn’t know what to say. Ressler wore his emotions on his sleeve and I wanted to believe him, I really did, but he didn’t understand how I was feeling. He didn’t get what this was like for me. He didn’t know what it was like to lose yourself and have to try and find a path in a new life- a life that I couldn’t even tell anybody about.

  “I get it, Ressler. I need to figure it out on my own.” I took a drink of my milk and thought about what he said. I couldn’t carry on just waiting. “Can we compromise?”

  “Depends on the compromise,” he said.

  “I won’t push you anymore with questions, on one condition.”

  He looked skeptical. “What’s that?”

  “You help me figure out what it is that I can do.”

  He looked at me with part smirk, part frown.

  “I want to practice.”

  “Caleb-”

  “I couldn’t give a crap about Caleb. He’s not my handler,” I said with aggravation. “Do you do everything Caleb says?” I said it to get him on side. I knew he wouldn’t want to be thought of as nothing more than an obedient follower.

  He smiled broadly. “Okay, it’s a deal.”

  “Excellent.” I couldn’t help it. I shrieked and pulled myself up onto my knees and threw my arms around his neck. I landed a quick kiss on his cheek. “You’re the best.”

  “Make sure you remember that.”

  I nodded. “I won’t forget it.”

  “So was the party last night worth it?” he asked me. I shot him a look that said, what do you think?

  “I just needed to get away,” I said. “I needed to be somewhere where Caleb wouldn’t know where I was.”

  “Because of Tamara?”

  “You know he’s been hanging out with her?” I rocked back onto my heels.

  “He’s not hanging out with her.”

  “Then what would you call it?” The words came out harsher than I meant them to, but that was the effects of Caleb.

  “More like, she’s hanging around him.”

  “I don’t see him telling her to go away.”

  Ressler shrugged. “I can’t answer that. That’s a conversation you’ll need to have with him.

  “I don’t want a conversation with him about it. He can do what he wants.”

  Ressler looked at me up through his thick lashes. “We both know that’s not true.” I turned away and wrapped my hands around my glass of milk. The cool breeze rustled through the shedding trees that surrounded my house, blowing the orange and brown leaves across the lawn. “He’s going to leave, Ressler. And he’s not coming back. What he does now, until then, is none of my business.” It was true, but somewhere along the line, my heart had failed to get the memo.

  ***

  I opened my eyes. My curtains were open, and rain crashed down angrily against my bedroom window. I knew I was being watched. The sensation was so overbearing that it had woken me up. I knew there was someone in the room, but I still managed to suck in a sharp breath of surprise when I saw the figure sitting at my window seat. It was all black, outlined in silver from the full moon outside. I wanted to close my eyes but they were frozen wide open. I couldn’t look away. The figure rose to full height, and I scrambled backwards out of bed, grabbing my quilt for protection. I didn’t know what kind of protection, I just needed to put something between me and whoever was in my room.

  “It’s just me,” The figure said in a hushed tone. I instantly recognized the voice.

  “Caleb?

  “Yes.”

  “What- I mean, how did you get in here?” I shook my head in bewilderment.

  “You’re dreaming,” he said.

  “Dreaming?” I was confused. “How can this be a dream? I’m awake.”

  “Ressler’s downstairs. Scream if you want, he won’t hear you.”

  I wasn’t going to do it at first, but I wouldn’t put it past Caleb to be manipulating the truth again. I opened my mouth and screamed at the top of my lungs. Caleb winced at my shrill voice. I stood and listened.

  Nothing. Ressler couldn’t hear me.

  “Told you. You’re wearing my t-shirt,” he said, nodding down at the baseball tee I had on and nothing else apart from my underwear. It was long enough to cover everything, but I pulled the quilt up over me anyway.

  “Why am I dreaming about you?” I could see him clearer now that my eyes had time to adjust to the darkness. He was wearing the same white t-shirt, rolled up to his shoulders and dark grey sweat pants. His white high tops glowed like snow under the moonlight.

  I could just see the beginnings of a smile pull at the corner of his mouth. It was all confidence and arrogance. It was all Caleb.

  “The heart wants what the heart wants.” He walked over to my bed, slowly, and I took a step backwards, banging my lower back on the dressing table.

  His smile widened. He reminded me of a wolf. A wolf out to get its prey. “You’re scared of me now?”

  “No. I just don’t know what’s going on here. You say I’m dreaming but this is too real. You’re really here.”

  “You’re dreaming, trust me. Do you think I would really be here otherwise?”

  “I guess not,” I said.

  He came over, stopping in front of me, and tugged the quilt out of my hands and threw it back on the bed.

  “I like you wearing my clothes,” he said. “Suit’s you.”

  I felt the heat creep up onto my cheeks. He moved closer, pressing me up against the dressing table. The wood dug deeper into my skin and I winced with pain. Caleb slid his arm in-between me and the furniture and pulled me up against him. There was so many things I wanted to say to him, but no words were there. My mind was empty, and my heart was full. I slid my hand up over the side of his face, and pushed my fingers through his hair. With his head lowered, I dropped my forehead against his, breathing heavily. His hands snaked up to my waist and he picked me up, lowering me onto the dressing table. With his hands now firmly on my thighs, he pushed my legs slightly apart, making room for himself to stand in-between. Placing a finger under my chin, he tipped my head up towards his face, staring down at me from under hooded eyes and pulled his bottom lip in-between his teeth. I looped my legs around his waist, and pulled him even closer, if that was possible. He braced his hands on the dresser, to stop from crushing me, and broke out into a wicked grin. His eyes narrowed and I swallowed a deep breath.

  “Do it now,” he whispered.

  I looked at him. “Do what?”

  “Whatever you want. You can do anything.” He was smiling, but I had no idea what he was talking about. “The power’s there, it’s just waiting for you. Go on,” he urged gently.

  “And do what with it?” I asked. I thought he didn’t want me to rush anything.

  He shrugged. “Surprise me.”

  There was only one thing I wanted to do, and it had nothing to do with power. I put my hands on Caleb’s shoulder’s and gripped his t-shirt, pulling myself up, locking my legs tighter around his waist. He moved his hand under my legs, and picked me up. I grabbed his face and kissed him. He turned us around and lowered me onto the bed, with his body firmly on top of me. I pushed up his shirt to feel the solid curves of his back, and let my hands roam freely. I was undeniably lost, so far gone, I didn’t care that this was just a dream. In fact, I hoped I never woke up.

  The door burst open and I jerked awake. I scrunched up my eyes against the harshness of the bright light an
d when I re-opened them, Ressler ran over to me from the open doorway and grabbed me by the shoulders. “Is this you?”

  I was about to ask him what was me, when I felt the biting wind blow in through my open bedroom windows. I pushed his hands off me, and freed myself of my quilt. I kneeled on the window seat and stuck my head out of the window and into the roaring winds. The weather was frantic and the cold nipped at my skin, unforgivingly. I could see the wind swirling, and tearing down from the sky, whipping up any loose debris in its path. I looked back over my shoulder at Ressler. My hair whipped around my face, and I clawed at it, pulling strands from my mouth. “What makes you think it’s me?” I shouted.

  “I’ll show you.” He pulled me out of my bedroom by my hand and we thundered down the stairs and out of the already open front door. I wrapped my hands tightly around my freezing body, as the wind lashed wildly at my bare legs and exposed arms. I looked up at the turmoil in the swirling sky, taking one step at a time slowly down to the yard, unable to believe what I was seeing. The wind was howling, ringing in my ears it was so loud. My hair blew ferociously around my head, and my mouth hung open in astonishment.

  I barely heard the screeching of tires when a car swerved around the corner, slamming on the breaks in front of my house. The headlights were left on, and Caleb swung out of the Dodge, leaving the door wide open. He jogged over to me, cupping my face in his hands. He was smiling. “You did it” he said. I let the laughter flow from me. I was freezing, and the sound of my happiness mixed with noise of the chattering of my teeth. I dragged my hair away from my eyes so I could see Caleb better. “I really did it.”

  He let go of me and placed his hand at the small of my back, looking up into the sky, bracing himself against the gale. The wind swirled around my house only. The rest of the empty street was as still and peaceful as a postcard. It was like I was standing in the middle of the twilight zone. It was a good job I had no neighbors. The trees rustled forcefully behind me and I heard the heavy snapping of a tree branch.

  Caleb turned to me. “You did good,” he said. I strained to hear him through the racket of the wind, so I took a step closer to him.

  “You need to stop it now, though. Before anyone notices.”

  I nodded in understanding. “But I don’t know how,” I said. He ducked down and looked me in the eye, pushing my hair back out of my face and held onto my hands. “I think you do.”

  I shook my head in answer to him.

  “I know you can do it,” he said. “You can do anything.”

  I put my hand up to his cheek and let it stay there. I let my head get in sync with my heart and I tuned in to the heavy beating of it. I worked on slowing it down and brought my whole focus back to reality, what was real, and what was now. The dream had got me worked up, and now, I needed to forget it.

  My hand was still resting on Caleb’s face when the brutal winds steadily died down and the noise disintegrated into a low whistle until it disappeared completely into the night. The air was still and unmoving, but my skin was frozen from the icy gusts that were no longer clawing at me.

  Caleb brushed his hand through his hair. “That’s it,” he said. I opened my eyes and looked around me. It was peaceful. My eyes settled on Ressler and Drake. When did Drake get here? He stood leaning against the railings of the porch, and Ressler sat on the steps next to him. Caleb’s gaze followed mine, and in answer to the question that must have been plain on my face, he said, “Drake came with me.”

  Really? I never even noticed him. I stared at Drake and he brought his hand to his head in a salute. I smiled at him.

  “Let’s go inside. It’s freezing.” Caleb put his hand on my shoulder and walked me back into the house along with Drake and Ressler.

  ***

  The door bell sounded and I ran over to it. I opened it up and took the flat box from the courier and signed his slip of paper. “Thanks,” I said, and closed the door behind him. I dashed back up to my bedroom and opened up the box. I peeled away the layers of silver crate paper and pulled out the black satin leotard. I turned it in my hands then lay it on the bed and carefully peeled away another layer of paper and took out the black wings. It was Halloween and the night of the school dance.

  Mellissa gasped. “Wow.” She leaned forward and spread her fingers over the delicate, silky feathers. “That costume is amazing.”

  It was amazing. I loved it; it was beyond perfect.

  An hour later, I pulled the last strand of my hair through the flat iron. I ran my fingers through it, and because my waves were now poker straight, it glided down my back hanging a few inches shy of my waist. I put in my diamond earrings from Caleb and switched off the hot iron. I went downstairs where Mellissa was waiting, dressed as Ariel from The Little Mermaid. She looked great. Her hair was in thick waves, curling around her face, and she wore a purple, sequin shell bra with an elastic, sparkling green, fish tail skirt.

  “You look great,” I said to her.

  I stuck my finger under the rim of my leotard and pulled it out where it was beginning to disappear into my butt cheek. Mellissa laughed behind me.

  “Nice, Pria. I hope you’re not going to have wedgies all night.” I laughed and stuck my tongue out at her. I would definitely have wedgies all night. The leotard fit where it touched. I slid my feet into my black, heeled over the knee boots. I grabbed my wings off the table in the dining room and handed them to Mellissa. “Put these on for me please.” She wrestled her way up off the couch, restricted by her skirt and pushed herself up one arm. I held out my hand to her and pulled her up.

  “This skirt is really going to get on my nerves tonight,” she complained. I stuck my arms out and she slipped on the thin straps of the wings. I went over to the mirror and turned with my back to it, looking over my shoulder. The black wings spread wide from my back and dipped down, narrowing at the bottom, brushing against the backs of my booted calves. They shimmered with subtle, silvery glittering strands.

  “You look too sexy for a school dance, aren’t you scared they’ll throw you out?” Mellissa asked me.

  “What about you?” I said. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but you’re wearing a bra.”

  “Hell yes, they better throw me out for being too sexy. That’s the plan anyway.”

  I grabbed my IPhone from the fireplace and threw it into my black, glittering clutch. Caleb had bought me a new IPhone after deciding my old smashed one was too unreliable to use anymore. There was a knock at the door and I went to answer it.

  A pirate and a… pilot? Stood on the other side of the threshold. Drake lowered his black, oversized tricorn hat and bowed down. He was wearing baggy, brown buccaneer pants, tucked into black, Caribbean boots. His off white, loose shirt was tucked into his trousers and left half open so I could see quite a bit of his solid, tanned chest. I had to admit, he was the best looking pirate I had ever seen.

  I put my focus to Ressler. "What are you supposed to be?" I asked.

  He lowered his reflective aviators. “Top gun,” he said. He was wearing a dark green jumpsuit with an array of different piloting badges. The top of the jumpsuit was open and he wore a white tee underneath, or a tank top, I couldn’t really tell. Yeah, I guess I could see the similarity there. Tom Cruise eat your heart out.

  "You look good," I said to both of them. "But Ressler, you don’t even go to school with us. Why are you dressed up?"

  "I'm your date."

  "My date? How do you know I don’t already have a date?” I asked. He was right, I didn’t have a date, but he was being far too presumptuous.

  "Well, I was hoping you didn't," he said, half smiling. He slowly looked me up and down. “Nice boots,” he said.

  Mellissa barged past me and looped her arm through Drakes. She held her overly tight skirt well above her knees with the tail cinched between her fingers. "Drake, you look great," she said. "Actually, you look really hot." Mellissa put her palm flat to his exposed chest and ran her finger over his skin. “I like you as a pir
ate. Shiver me timbers,” she said, in a weird accent, impersonating the voice of a pirate.

  I rolled my eyes.

  "Ressler," Mellissa continued. "You can be Pria's date because she hasn't got one, she’s just too proud to admit it, bless her." She clenched her fists tightly in excitement and grinned through her teeth. I guess I was going with Ressler then.

  We pulled up outside of school in Ressler’s Mercedes and everything from a giant Smurf, to Barbie, had turned up. The dance was being held in the school gym and the dance committee had done a great job. That was hard for me to admit considering Tamara was head of the committee. Black spider web was strewn from the rafters, cradling glowing, carved pumpkins. The DJ Booth was set up at the back of the gym hall and the DJ was dressed as Dracula with fake blood dripping from his mouth and fangs. Fake candelabras had been attached to the walls, giving off a dim flickering light, and a huge, silver disco ball had been hung. We found a table off to the side of the gym and Mellissa and I sat down while Drake and Ressler went to get us some punch.

  “This reeks of Tamara,” Mellissa said, with a look of distaste. “She’s so OTT. I bet this cost a fortune.”

  I glanced appreciatively at all the décor. “I hate to say it, but I think it looks good.”

  Mellissa’s eyes widened and she cleared her throat. “Speaking of OTT, here she comes with a H-O-T-T-Y.”

  I craned my neck to look over my shoulder and I automatically pulled my mouth into a hard line. Tamara was wearing a tight, red mini dress with a speared red tail attached at the back with red horns over her long blonde hair. Red ribbon laced all the way up to her thighs from the heels she wore.

  “Well she’s dressed appropriately, I have to give her that,” Mellissa all but hissed. “She’s definitely the fucking devil.”

  “Mellissa,” I said, scorching her with a deep frown.

  “What?” I can’t swear now?”

  I turned back to look at Tamara. I didn’t really want to, but it was like a car crash; I just couldn’t take my eyes off it. It wasn’t what Tamara was wearing that bothered me, she could show up naked for all I care. It was who she was with that grabbed my attention and made the blood thrum angrily through my veins.